It would be unfair to show the written down chords of a jazz tune as a deterrent. Either Monk, for example, had the specific sound of a key in mind or he had wanted to make it easier for all the wind instruments to play.
I approach jazz from listening and the theory comes later. A lot of jazz goes back mainly to two types of structure, the 12 bar Blues and the American song form.
The art in my view is the timbre and the voicing. If jazz is just "difficult" it is not necessarily good music. But if it is based on blus or blue notes, it can sound very emotional, even if it has a lot of through chords and some twists. E.g. Goodbye Porkpie Hat by Mingus, that sounds so cool fluid, but is soo complex. That's the charm and the joy, isn't it?
